As followers of Lord Jesus Christ it is becoming more important for us to be able to discern between the fact of the matter and the truth of the Spirit in the midst of growing uncertainty, doubt, and distractions in the world in these end times.
The fact of the matter is of the world, which we can see, touch and measure scientifically, but facts change.
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But the truth of the Spirit is of God, which we cannot see or determine with any of our senses, and is unchanging — the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
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God’s children are called to grow in discernment through the discipline of quiet time, daily, in His presence in prayer and in His Word, for we must walk more and more in the Spirit so as to focus on God’s kingdom in faith — seeing through the confusion of the world and the enemy’s attempts to disturb and sidetrack us with doubts, diversions, and temptations.
In the world but not of it
That is not to say we must withdraw from the world, but in actively living in the world our focus on God’s kingdom should not be diverted by the things of the world, nor be waylaid by what we can see with our eyes, for we are not of the world.
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Instead we must stay focussed on the things of God’s kingdom that we see by faith with the eyes of our hearts, for we enter into God’s presence naked with nothing of the world, only our faith in His only begotten Son, which we received through none of our own doing, but by God’s grace.
In the world, we are called to see through material facts to discern and reveal the truth of God’s creation that is in essence spirit.
However, in ourselves we are unable to discern truth from fact or Spirit from matter, which is only possible through the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent to guide us into all truth (John 16:7-15).
Through the daily discipline of prayerful study of God’s Word the Holy Spirit will interpret and translate what we read, thus developing our relationship with our Holy Father, our understanding of His will, and how we can do His will.
God speaking through His Word
The Holy Spirit works through our prayers and reading of God’s Word by validating or making it real and personalising it for each and every one of us, as though God is speaking to us directly — which He is.
It is vital that we realise and remember that God’s Word is greater than the world, for in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1) and the world was created through His Word.
Without the discernment gained from the Holy Spirit through spending time in the Lord’s presence in His Word and in prayer, we will not recognise His truth from the world’s facts.
For example, only through the Holy Spirit are we convinced that the bible is not only the Word of God in print, but in Spirit and in truth, and that His Word was sent in the flesh as Jesus Christ into the world, which was made through Him, yet did not know Him (John 1:10).
It is only through the Holy Spirit that we are able to discern from the fact that Jesus was an important prophet, the truth that He is the only begotten Son of God — the Christ, sent to wipe away the sins of the world and give those that believe in His name the right to become children of God who are born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13).
Time vs eternity
Another truth that is only discernible through the Holy Spirit is that Jesus Christ overcame death, is alive, and through Him we have eternal life in the Spirit — that through Jesus we do not live in time, but in eternity.
We must discern between the fact of time that is finite, material and measurable, and the truth of time, which is Spirit, infinite, eternal and beyond measure.
The fact of time is the world’s measure of a seemingly independent chronological or linear time, yet the truth of time is that it, like all else, is controlled by God and He can speed it up or slow it down (Matthew 24:22 and Joshua 10:12-14), now, or at any time.
God changes the times and the seasons (Daniel 2:21) as He wills.
Pastor and author Francis Frangipane, in an article entitled Hastened in Its Time, explains: “As many of us are already aware, the Greek translation of the Bible used two words to describe the concept of time. Chronos referred to chronological time, while kairos was usually translated ‘fullness of time’. Kairos times are those unique, spiritually heightened bursts of spiritual fulfilment that exist between dispensations and epochs”.
Kairos seasons
“During kairos seasons the Spirit of God invades the fabric of life itself: everything accelerates and changes as reality is redirected by the unalterable will of God. Noah lived in a kairos time. Moses led Israel out of Egypt during a kairos time. Jesus came in the fullness of the time (Galatians 4:4), and the world marks its calendars from the birth of God’s Son.
“It is also amazing to me that, during the first century kairos, Jesus was able to take common, nonreligious men and, in just three and a half years, transform them into powerful apostles. These men healed the sick, raised the dead, had deep spiritual substance and wrote the very Scriptures, which were inspired by God Himself. How did they grow so fast? They were alive during a kairos time. The Lord hastened their growth ‘in its time’,” says Frangipane.
We too are living in kairos time — the end times — and just as the Lord hastened the disciples’ growth during their time in His presence, the Holy Spirit can correct us, transform us, and grow the mind of Christ in us during the time we devote to spending in our Holy Father’s presence.
Frangipane says, “Consider also Paul’s word: For the Lord will execute His word upon the earth, thoroughly and quickly (Romans 9:28)”.
“There is no reason the Lord cannot do things quicker should He choose to: He created the universe in six days! I love that the end times are not just about God moving quickly but also about Him accomplishing a deep and thorough work in us. Indeed, if we want the quick, we must focus on the thorough. Yet His promise is for both a quick and thorough work!”
Can a nation be brought forth all at once?
Frangipane agrees with Angus Buchan’s prophetic declaration at the “Its Time National Day of Prayer” in Bloemfontein and at the Karoo Mighty Men Conference from Isaiah 66:8 — Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
“I know many are wearied with battles and delays, yet the Lord says a time is approaching when there shall no longer be any delays: As soon as Zion travailed, she . . . brought forth her sons.”
“Prayer warriors, this is why we must prevail in prayer,” says Frangipane.
Uncle Angus also said that “It’s Time” for us to become prayer warriors as well as to fellowship daily with our Holy Father in His Word.
It is only through prayerful reading of the Lord’s Word that the Holy Spirit will prepare the bride of Christ to discern the imminent arrival the bridegroom, which will marry fact with truth, spirit with matter and time with eternity when God’s Will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
